Tonight and Sunday afternoon, Norm Argulski will perform the role of a lifetime -- for the second time in five months.
He portrays esteemed professor Morrie Schwartz, the title character in the two-man show "Tuesdays with Morrie," based on the book of the same name. The play, which will be performed at St. James Episcopal Church in Batavia, tells the true story of Mitch Albom, a sports reporter who decides to contact a favorite former college professor after seeing him on television.
Despite the fact that the professor, Morrie, is dying of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, a close friendship blossoms between the two as he teaches Mitch many valuable lessons about life and love.
"I think it was a mixture of guilt and a sense of duty [that brought Mitch back to see Morrie]," says Jesse Conklin, who plays Mitch. "He had lost touch with him, after promising to keep in touch, and he felt it would be inhuman not to visit him when he heard that he was dying.
"Like Mitch says in the show, he thought going back to see him that first time would just be a one-shot deal. I think it's ambiguous in the play, what his original reasons were."
Although tonight will be the first performance in months, it is not the true opening night in this area. The Wyoming County Bicentennial Singers' cast made its debut in May at the Warsaw Grange.
This time, though, the profits will be going toward the St. James Restoration Fund. And with luck, Sunday's matinee will not be the last performance: the show was adjudicated in May for the Theater Association of New York State (TANYS) and, if selected, will be performed again in November at the TANYS festival at Genesee Community College.
Director Kathy Dodge says that the three weeks' worth of rehearsals prior to this weekend have been spent mostly just polishing the show, as both actors remembered their parts well. The only differences between the performances in May and the performances this weekend, Dodge says, will be technical.
"I actually remembered most of my lines," says Conklin. "The parts I'm shaky on now are the same parts that I was shaky on before. I would say the hardest thing is getting emotionally back into it. I have to really focus to not go on autopilot this time."
The emotional transition back into the role was smoother for Argulski, who says that the rehearsals for the reprise "seemed like what we had always been doing. What's funny is that the more we do this, the more I talk to Mitch, the less I find myself feeling like Norm."
"I have played so many wonderful roles that I enjoyed, but I just had to play this one," Argulski says. "It's truly the role of a lifetime. Morrie is one of the most interesting characters that you will ever see on stage. You'll like him from the first time that you see him. And even at the end, even though you know he's dying, you still feel good about him."
It seems only natural that Argulski should have the role of Morrie because of the similarities between the two.
"The way that we both think about life and view other people is very close," he explains. "So many of his values are my values."
Argulski is also a retired schoolteacher, something that influenced him greatly in understanding the character.
"Being a teacher was probably the biggest plus that I brought to being Morrie because I know how he felt," he says. "I had so many wonderful students, and I'm still in touch with many of them."
Dodge says she initially chose the show because of the book:
"I read the book years ago, multiple times actually. It's one of my favorites, so I was interested in the play. I really love that it's a true story."
Conklin, on the other hand, had never heard of the show or book before auditioning.
"I heard the name and was like, 'Tuesdays with what? Is it a musical?'" he laughs.
"It is such a unique situation, because in most dramatic works there is a villain, or at least an unsavory person of some sort," Argulski said. "However, this is a story about two wonderful characters, and seeing this is seeing two wonderful men in what they do as their relationship grows."
Is there a message in the show? Director Dodge thinks so: "To make sure you say what you want to people that you love, because you never know when you won't be able to say it to them. Make time for people. The show also brings ALS and hospice front and forward."
Argulski says that the characters have deepened his appreciation of life: "At one point in the show Morrie says, 'I wish I had been aware of death every day of my life.' Of course no one wants to be aware of death every day, but that was really the turning point in his life. I've never known anyone who celebrated death, or who looked at death as it really is. I would really like to talk to him about that."
Tonight's performance is at 7:30 and tomorrow it's at 2 p.m. The ticket price of $15 includes dessert and coffee with the actors after the show. The church is located at 405 E. Main St. in Batavia. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call 343-6802.
